IRS Tax Debt Relief

It's tough to escape tax debt. Money owed to the Internal Revenue Service is almost impossible to discharge in personal bankruptcy. And while there is a 10-year statute of limitations during which the government can collect the money, the IRS will surely take legal action to get its money before 10 years is passed. Your best solution: Work with a tax attorney to find a tax debt relief solution to your problems.

How the IRS Collects Unpaid Taxes

The Internal Revenue Service has several ways in which it collects unpaid taxes. It can:

Get a federal tax lien against your property. A tax lien is a legal claim against your assets—such as real estate, vehicles and securities—that prevents the property from being sold until the tax debt is paid. In addition, a tax lien may make it difficult to obtain new credit.

The IRS can also add tax penalties to your tax bill in the form of fines and interest charges.

If you ignore tax bills and other legal notices from the IRS, they will take legal action in the form of tax liens, tax levies, penalties and interest. However, this can be avoided if you and your tax attorney communicate with the IRS and work to find a workable solution to pay off your IRS debt.

Legal Tax Resolution Options

There are several ways in which to solve your tax debt problem. Your tax lawyers can review the pros and cons of each option and help you decide which tax debt reduction option would work best for you.

If you don't have the money available to pay your tax debt in a single lump sum, you can apply to pay the money in an installment payment plan. This lets you make monthly payments to the IRS until your taxes are paid off. The monthly payment is usually a fixed sum, so you'll want to review your budget and commit to an affordable amount. Interest and penalties will continue to accrue on your unpaid debt, which means you should try to pay down the balance as quickly as possible.

If you have immediate access to most of the money you owe, you can apply for an offer in compromise. This allows you to settle your tax debt for less than the total amount owed. Typically the IRS will consider an offer in compromise if full payment of your tax debt would present a significant financial hardship.

When you apply for an offer in compromise, you'll also have to submit a non-refundable application fee. Because there is a cost to apply, work with your tax debt lawyer to come up with a fair and appropriate offer. Low-ball offers will be rejected if the IRS believes you can afford to pay more money.

You can also request a penalty abatement from the IRS. This is a request to erase any fines that may have been added to your tax bill. These fines are intended to penalize people who willfully ignore their tax debt. If you've incurred your tax debt as the result of an honest mistake or because you've been unable to pay, the IRS will consider a penalty abatement.

Finally, in a limited number of circumstances you may be able to discharge some or all of your tax debt if you file for personal bankruptcy. Tax debt will only be discharged if you meet very specific requirements. Your tax relief attorney can tell you if you qualify.

Hire a Tax Relief Attorney Today

Ignoring your tax debt will not make it go away. Your tax resolution solution is to hire a lawyer who has experience negotiating tax debt solutions with the IRS and with your state tax authority.

A tax debt attorney will have the knowledge and experience to evaluate your situation, explain your legal options and suggest the best-possible solution. Your tax relief lawyer can then guide you through the process of eliminating your tax debt.

Are you ready to start solving your unpaid tax problem? Congratulations! LawyerLocator.com can help you find a local tax attorney. To get started, simply complete the form on this page, select your state from the list below or call us at 1-888-490-2407.